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Summary: Easy to read, easy to understand.
Review: This translation of Plato's Republic is very easy to read and understandable. As someone who needed to read this book quickly for a class, I found this translation to be much more accessible than other translations I've encountered.
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Summary: An excellent translation with deep, inciteful endnotes.
Review: This translation of the book that, set the standard upon which all other discussions of the perfect political system are based, is the clearest translation I have read. The interpretive essay at the end enhances the Socratic discussion that takes place in the book. Mr. Bloom did an excellent job of adding endnotes to allow the readers extra insights and more avenues for exploration once through with the book. This is a must have for any classical collection.
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Summary: Plato is fun!!!!
Review: We all know - there is no point in reviewing such a classic (other than to comment on the translation). So what I want to say is that Plato is so much fun to read. It is the dialogue. When I found out that was how Plato wrote - I became interested. Accessible to everyone! And the Myth of Er is one of the best endings ever!
The Republic is great. Pass it on!
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Summary: Bloom points to a 'New' Philosophy
Review: What is so fascinating about this translation and the essay is that it deviates in important ways from the typical Christian Platonist conception of philosophy. Bllom is engaged in a war of sorts, it is stunning oh so many other academics fail to recognize how Bloom undermines their common assumptions about 'The Republic' and philosophy itself. Note the absence of comment on the 'Divided Line' of Book VI, and the entire discussion of the 'Theory of Forms' get short shrift. Why? There is a reason, if you follow the interpretitive essay, a parenthitic expression sends shivers- did Bloom really suggest 'The Just City in Speech' is not the best regime? Haunting. This view of 'The Republic' is deeply dependent on Leo Strauss' earlier groundbreaking sensitivity to irony. This is easy to say-IRONY- Plato was ironic, "The Republic' is ironic, but what does that really mean? An excellent read, and read, and read again.
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Summary: Irony Schmirony
Review: With all due respect (and I really mean it -- Bloom's a treasure and I have a lot of respect for this translation), people with a modern right-wing ideological bent desperately need to make this into a work of irony because Plato, like Jesus, Marx, and Adam Smith, has nothing to do with an ideology founded on the premise that we are put on this earth to make a fetish of family, possessions, and country. He's GOT to be kidding, right?Yes and no. Clearly the regime he describes in this book is so radical as to live forever in fa-la-la land, but the fact that he despised the rich, the brutal, and the smugly dense is beyond dispute. Furthermore (see below for examples), many of his suggestions have been adopted with outstanding success throughout history. The main lesson I learned from the work, and for that I have Professor Bloom's guidance to thank, is that the road to enlightenment really is hard. It's one the majority will never go down. I did NOT learn that we should use the failure to create a just society as an excuse to not try to get as close to it as we can (not that this work is necessarily about that). I mean, what are we supposed to do, just LEAVE everybody in Plato's cave (or the Matrix)? The sheep need a shepherd, at least until they can stand on their own two feet, and for that favor the shepards are always murdered. It's interesting, and indisputable, that Plato here is guilty of the gravest sin charged against modern liberals today: moral relativity. Listening to him talk about coming up with fables and a system of right and wrong that citizens are willing to fight and die for brought to mind the Mormans here in the U.S. How did such a silly faith (in my opinion) nevertheless turn out such fine citizens? How did the stories of Abraham and Moses and King David keep the Jews going for so long? Read Plato's Republic and find out. There are many times in history when people actually get into the ballpark of a regime of equality and meritocracy like Plato describes in the book. The early Roman and American republics. Early Islam and Christianity. In fact, it was when they came closest to such a philosophy that they were the most successful. Contemporary Greek homophopia and Islamic misogyny (Muhammad was actually employed by one of his wives) had no place in their societies during their greatest periods of success. The obvious conclusion to draw is such notions aren't as pie-in-the-sky as people like to think. In fact, if anything's held back world progress it's the "realism" of people like Pilate and Kissinger. My God. Just check out San Francisco in our own day and age. The Republic is a marvelous book that every citizen of the world should read, and a great place to start for anyone who's woken up to the fact that we've been led down the yellow brick road the past 20 years. As for this particular translation, having the company of two great men like Plato and Allan Bloom is never a waste of time. I'd take notes if they were giving a lecture on lampshades.
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